My OCD Shouldn’t Be Your Clickbait
Why are we still seeing quizzes, articles and "cute clothing" that misinterprets our disorder and keeps others from better understanding the struggle of OCD?
Key Takeaways:
- OCD continues to be used incorrectly in cultural settings. It tends to be used as a synonym for organization, germaphobia or Type A personalities.
- While scrolling through Facebook, Aaron stumbled upon a quiz that supposedly tested if a person has OCD. Naturally, the quiz was misguided in it's understanding of the disorder.
- Some people might claim that calling out this use of OCD is being overly sensitive. However, language is powerful and dictates how we understand things. For those struggling to explain to family and friends why they need to change the way they speak about OCD, share the below.
Most everyone has fallen victim to the click-bait quizzes that flood our Facebook feeds.
Who is your celebrity twin?
How old will you be when you die?
Which friend is your ULTIMATE soulmate?
We know they are BS, and yet we still click through. The momentary entertainment they supply outweighs the useless information they provide. However, some of these quizzes are less innocent than others.
While scrolling the other day, one caught my eye: “Are You The Most OCD Person You Know?!” Despite my visceral reaction to the headline, I clicked. The quiz consisted of 15 “one of these is not like the other” tests. A series of 3 nearly identical photos would appear on the screen, and you had to select the outlier. I played and passed, which prompted the following announcement:
“OCD, OCD, OCD!
You have a killer eye for spotting the tiniest, most invisible inaccuracies, errors and mistakes. And it’s very important to you to correct them 🙂 This special combination is what makes you a perfectionist in everything you do. It’s great that you want things to go the right way and are always ready to fight for it, but you also need to give yourself a break sometimes. It’s hard (and not always necessary) to be 100% perfect all the time.”
This diagnosis was old news. What was alarming, was the means of getting there and the wildly inaccurate “definition” of OCD that followed (not that sufferers aren’t used to OCD being talked about this way).
For those that need a reminder: OCD is not perfectionism. OCD is not germaphobia. OCD is not about being Type A, hyper-organized or overly attentive. A person’s OCD may include some of these qualities, but that is an individual manifestation, and not a universal symptom of the disorder.
For those that say we’re overreacting: Language dictates how we think about and understand things. It is a labeling system, and a means of explaining one person’s reality to another. When society is used to using a word in a given way, people begin to associate those use cases with the concept that word represents. Put simply, associating OCD with perfectionism makes people think that OCD is about perfectionism. This habit lessens the severity of the disorder and minimizes the suffering it causes.
As a 35-year-old, diagnosed sufferer, I know this quiz is inaccurate and does not represent my OCD experience. It is frustrating, but it does not make me doubt my diagnosis. But for a struggling, 13-year-old who clicks on this quiz expecting answers, the damage done is substantial and lasting. It may be years before they revisit OCD as an explanation for their mental health challenges. Or, even worse, they may suffer in silence forever.
Shifting to a society in which mental health is given the attention and care it deserves, starts with education and early access to resources. The way we currently talk about OCD undermines both of those needs. It’s the opposite of education, it’s misinformation. It deters people from looking for help, because they don’t know to search for “OCD.”
Changing how we use the term will not be easy. It requires widespread commitment and awareness. For now, make sure you correct those who use OCD incorrectly. Don’t just call them out, inform them. And no matter how awkward the confrontation might be, remember: that’s one less person perpetuating a harmful stereotype, and progress starts one step at a time.